Stupidity Knows No Bounds

I was a State hazardous waste guy for years, and I’ve taught environmental safety and health courses for 20, including DOT hazmat, and yet people still are out there making idiotic mistakes. I just read this on Firehouse.com:

Duct Tape Patch Leads to Montana Diesel Fuel Spill

LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) — Maybe duct tape doesn’t fix everything.

Officials in southern Montana say a Canadian truck driver found that out the hard way when he tried to stop a fuel tank leak with the all-purpose tape before going to sleep at a truck stop near Livingston.

The Livingston Enterprise reports a truck stop employee called Park County firefighters at about 3 a.m. Thursday to report the leak. Fire Chief Dann Babcox estimates about 100 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from the tractor-trailer onto the ground.

The truck driver works for a company based in Saskatchewan. He says he thought he might have hit something on Interstate 90, but when he stopped at the time, he didn’t notice any damage.

Duct tape isn’t even waterproof, fercrissakes, or not for long! If you’ve got a slow leak, gas tank epoxy will fix it; I’ve used it myself when I cracked a freeze plug on my gas tank on the old Chevy Nova I had many years ago. If it’s a more rapid leak, auto parts stores have patch kits. This guy must have been sleeping through his Transport Canada hazardous materials class.